Len McCluskey’s now infamous New Statesman article dismissing anti-Semitism as a “smear” and threatening Labour MPs who spoke in the anti-Semitism debate with deselection was actually written by Corbyn aide Andrew Murray, Jon Craig reports. Murray is Len’s chief of staff at Unite but is also a “part-time consultant” in Corbyn’s office. Readers will remember the former Communist Party member’s other greatest hits include defending Stalin, the Soviet Union and North Korea, celebrating the Russian Revolution and repeatedly parroting Kremlin talking points. Craig says he has had it “confirmed by a top union source” that Murray was the author of McCluskey’s article. Corbyn publicly says that anti-Semitism stories are not a smear and praises the MPs who spoke out about abuse. Privately his aides are writing articles saying it is a smear and threatening them with deselection…

Quote of the Day

Dominic Raab wrote in his letter of resignation…

“This is, at its heart, a matter of public trust,” he told the PM, concluding: “I cannot reconcile the terms of the proposed deal with the promises we made to the country in our manifesto at the last election… I believe that the regulatory regime proposed for Northern Ireland presents a very real threat to the integrity of the United Kingdom. I cannot support an indefinite backstop arrangement, where the EU holds a veto over our ability to exit…”